Moto Taxis Galore

There are, literally, almost no buses here inside the city limits (plenty of intercity buses arrive and leave from the terminal here all day); instead, those without cars (most of the population) use “moto” taxis (motorcycles and mopeds) to get where they need to go. The driver honks to offer a ride, stops, picks up his passenger (who just jumps on the seat with him), and takes the passenger where they want to go for the equivalent of 50 cents US. It seems benign enough except for the following realities:

There are over 20,000 of these motos in Sincelejo (this estimate is very rough but not one we created).

A minority of these drivers and absolutely none of their passengers wear helmets.

There are about 15 traffic lights in Sincelejo and otherwise it’s whoever dares plow on through who gets the right of way—so crossing the street here as a pedestrian is a brave feat.

And the sheer quantity of motos and their noise is unreal.

Accidents are commonplace—our family has witnessed plenty of them already and two of our three MCC SEED volunteer friends here on the coast had already been injured in moto accidents during their first three months here (before we arrived in Sincelejo). So we’ve basically foresworn taking motos ourselves though taking a taxi cab costs four times as much no matter where one’s destination. We walk everywhere we can and take taxis to other places just too far on foot or when the groceries just won’t fit in the backpacks. Our walk from our apartment to the office is about 20 minutes one way, straight through a maze of a gazillion motos and the main business district to the other side of town. Women who can afford it take moto taxis wherever they need to go, allowing them to avoid the super sweaty bedraggled look I seem to sport here.

Apparently there was some bus system in the past but moto taxis sprouted up and the city had no plan to either improve public transit nor monitor or regulate moto driving and numbers. Literally, bus service was driven into the ground and for the last several years motos have exploded as the one of the main employment options and the only real transportation option in this town save taxis (which folks find unaffordable).

We have seen many amazing things piled onto motos. Here is

Caleb and Ascher’s Top Ten List of Moto Feats Observed So Far :

1. Five people riding at once (3 adults and 2 children)!
2. A newborn baby held in one of his mama’s arms with his toddler sibling riding in front of the driver with her own little hands on handlebars.
3. A passenger bearing a stack of 12 plastic chairs upon his shoulders.
4. Two live roosters hanging from their tied feet.
5. A 50 pound bag of carrots balanced in front of the driver
6. A man holding an unopened television still in it’s huge box.
7. Various sizes of adult bicycles being balanced atop the passenger.
8. Huge soup pots with lids wrapped in rags so as not to burn the driver.
9. Various 12- 15 foot long metal or pvc pipes held down low by the passenger’s side.
10. Passenger holding a single bed mattress (that was actually our friend!)

For fun on a particularly slow afternoon here, we timed how many vehicles went past our house in a 10 minute period: 104 motos, 30 cars, several horse-drawn wagons and an uncounted number of human-propelled carts.

Video of motos and street life

Motos clearly outnumber cars on this and every street

As many moto driverse carry their helmets as wear them

3 or 4 on a moto is common - kids fit best on front

motos transport goods as well as people

when the temp is 95 and feels like 111 due to high humidity its essential to find some shade for your ride